Posted Aug 29, 2009, 8:34 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 678
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An alternative way to embrace the linguistic diversity along the Canada/Skytrain Lines, would be through the utilization of the LCD monitors in the stations. It could easily translate and scroll through arrivals, safety, notices, announcements, warnings, etc. into multiple languages. Apparently these monitors are all centrally controlled and can be updated on the fly.
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During the Olympics, announcements should be bilingual English/French. It's the Canadian Winter Games, Canada is officially a bilingual country, the Olympics is officially a bilingual event.
Outside of the Olympics, there's no reason it should be other than English only. However, if there were to be a 2nd language, Mandarin Chinese would be a logical choice. Why? First, Vancouver has a large population that either speak Mandarin Chinese, or associate themselves with the official Chinese language. Mandarin Chinese is increasingly becoming the lingua franca of east and south-east asia. And increasingly is becoming a language of influence. Second, it acknowledges that we are a Pacific Rim city, and in many ways have more in common with these neighbours than their Euro-centric counterparts.
I could make a compelling argument for French, but relatively speaking, very few people in Vancouver speak French.
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Some people have said that using these 'ghetto' languages will only divide the city... that's rubbish. This is a transit system, designed to move people around. Making it harder for non-English speakers to navigate a transit system will not somehow force them to conform and learn good English. They would more likely just opt out of the transit system altogether and stay where they are. Accessible transit means more integration, not less.
And I think we have to be careful here. English may be our official and most important language in Vancouver, but it is certainly not our only one. Historically, English is among many founding languages of this city. Chinese and Punjabi have been spoken in Vancouver as long as English and German have been. Well maybe not German anymore.
I believe that most immigrants coming to Canada generally DO want to integrate with Canadian society, adopt Canadian values, enjoy the Canadian way of life, otherwise they would not have taken the effort to get here. What often happens, however, is that when they get here, they feel excluded, they are made to feel like foreigners and strangers, so in the end, they just end up recreating versions of their homeland. So when people say 'when you come to my country, you use my language' it's that attitude that actually creates the conditions that makes ghettos possible.
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